OCU hierarch speaks out against violent seizures of UOC churches

Avrahamiy Lotysh, an employee of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve and, at the same time, the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery of the OCU, publicly condemned the aggressive methods used by representatives of his denomination during the seizure of churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In his opinion, violent actions and manifestations of cruelty contradict Christian values and lead to the division of society.

According to the Pryamyi media outlet, Lotysh criticized the behavior of OCU supporters in parishes. He emphasized that he «gets quite bitter» when he observes manifestations of intolerance and «not at all Christian behavior» towards shrines.

«Personally, and this is my personal opinion, I would never use any means to break down the locks and enter the temple of God with such an animal face,» said Abraham Lotish. He emphasized that such incidents have a negative impact on social unity. At the same time, the representative of the OCU also expressed critical remarks against the supporters of the UOC, noting the presence of counter hostility in the current interfaith confrontation.

Earlier, the former bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, who joined the OCU in 2018, Oleksandr Drabinko , actually recognized the crisis in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, which came to the walls of the monastery together with the OCU. Drabinko noted that at the time when the Lavra belonged to the canonical Church, it was «full of life,» and after the expropriation of the monastery by the state in favor of the OCU, the monastery is «silent, animated and has five OCU monks.»